How to Be a Woman

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Though they have the vote and the Pill and haven't been burned as witches since 1727, life isn't exactly a stroll down the catwalk for modern women. They are beset by uncertainties and questions: Why are they supposed to get Brazilians? Why do bras hurt? Why the incessant talk about babies? And do men secretly hate them?

Caitlin Moran interweaves provocative observations on women's lives with laugh-out-loud funny scenes from her own, from the riot of adolescence to her development as a writer, wife, and mother. With rapier wit, Moran slices right to the truth — whether it's about the workplace, strip clubs, love, fat, abortion, popular entertainment, or children — to jump-start a new conversation about feminism. With humor, insight, and verve, How To Be a Woman lays bare the reasons why female rights and empowerment are essential issues not only for women today but also for society itself.

Review:

"Part memoir, part postmodern feminist rant, this award-winning British TV critic and celebrity writer brings her ingeniously funny views to the States. Moran's journey into womanhood begins on her 13th birthday when boys throw rocks at her 182-pound body, and her only friend, her sister Caz, hands her a homemade card reminding her to please turn 18 or die soon so Caz can inherit her bedroom. Always resourceful — as the eldest of eight children from Wolverhampton — the author embarrasses herself often enough to become an authority on how to masturbate; name one's breasts; and forgo a Brazilian bikini wax. She doesn't politicize feminism; she humanizes it. Everyone, she writes, is automatically an F-word if they own a vagina and want 'to be in charge of it.' Empowering women is as easy as saying — without reservation — the word 'fat' and filling our handbags with necessities like a safety pin, biscuit, and 'something that can absorb huge amounts of liquid.' Beneath the laugh-out-loud humor is genuine insight about the blessings of having — or not having — children. With brutal honesty, she explains why she chose to have an abortion after birthing two healthy daughters with her longtime husband, Pete. Her story is as touching as it is timely. In her brilliant, original voice, Moran successfully entertains and enlightens her audience with hard-won wisdom and wit." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Review:

Review:

Review:

"Caitlin Moran is a feminist heroine for our times. I can't wait to give this book to my daughters." Zoë Heller, author of The Believers

Review:

"Caitlin Moran is so fabulous, so funny, so freshly feminist. I don't want to be like her — I want to be her. But if I can't, at least I can relish her book. You will, too." Peggy Orenstein, author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter

Review:

"A genuinely original talent." Germaine Greer, The Times (London)

Review:

"Totally brilliant." Independent on Sunday (UK)

Review:

"Caitlin Moran is the profane, witty and wonky best friend I wish I had. She's the feminist rock star we need right now; How to Be a Woman is an hilarious delight." Ayelet Waldman, author of Bad Mother

Review:

Review:

"The U.K. version of Tina Fey's Bossypants....You will laugh out loud, wince, and — in my case — feel proud to be the same gender as the author." Emma Gilbey Keller, Vanity Fair

Review:

"Caitlin Moran taught me more about being a woman than being a woman did. I'm pretty sure I had testicles before I read this book." Jenny Lawson, author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir

Review:

"Her arguments are hilarious and spot on....This isn't a self-help guide, and Moran's not really telling you how to be a woman. Instead, she's giving you permission to laugh: at ourselves, at her, and at anyone who think there's only one way to be a woman." Shannon Carlin, Bust Magazine

Review:

"A spirited memoir/manifesto....With equal amounts snarky brio and righteous anger....That such an important topic is couched in ribald humor makes reading about Moran's journey hilarious as well as provocative....Rapturously irreverent, this book should kick-start plenty of useful discussions." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Review:

Review:

"There is a good reason for [its success]: it is pretty phenomenal....[Moran] wrote the book in just 5 months....Chances are you'll read it in far less time than that, turning down the corners of extra-resonating pages to come back to later." Jenn Doll, The Atlantic Wire

Review:

"How funny is Caitlin Moran's neo-feminist manifesto and memoir, How to Be a Woman? Don't read it with a full bladder....You could spend a whole book group session flagging favorite lines.....There's some comfort in Moran's book coming out so soon after Nora Ephron's death." Heller McAlpin, Barnes & Noble Review

Review:

"With her drunk-on-gin-with-my-lady-friends honesty and humor, Moran, a Times of London columnist, snips the man out of manifesto, spinning her message of radically sensible female empowerment." Vanity Fair.com

Review:

Review:

"Bravely and brilliantly weaves personal anecdotes and cutting insight into a book that is at once instructional, confessional, and a call for change....Moran shifts effortlessly between her own hilarious experiences and larger questions about women's place in the modern world." Interview Magazine

Review:

"It is bracing in this season of losing [Nora] Ephron to discover a younger feminist writer who scrimmages with the patriarchy and drop kicks zingers with comic flair....A must-read for anyone curious to find out just how very funny a self-proclaimed 'strident feminist' can be." Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air

Review:

"Scathingly funny....Moran makes us think about femininity and feminism, and whether you agree or not, she's fascinating." People

Review:

"A fresh, funny take on modern feminism that shines a light on issues facing every woman, lovingly boiled down to the basics with insight and humor." Today Show

Review:

"There are lots of things to love about Caitlin Moran's How to Be a Woman....A glorious, timely stand against sexism so ingrained we barely even notice it. It is, in the dour language [Moran] militates so brilliantly against, a book that needed to be written." New York Times

Synopsis:

Caitlin Moran puts a new face on feminism, cutting to the heart of womens issues today with her irreverent, transcendent, and hilarious How to Be a Woman. "Half memoir, half polemic, and entirely necessary," (Elle UK), Moran's debut was an instant runaway bestseller in England as well as an Amazon UK Top Ten book of the year; still riding high on bestseller lists months after publication, it is a bona fide cultural phenomenon. Now poised to take American womanhood by storm, here is a book that Vanity Fair calls "the U.K. version of Tina Fey's Bossypants....You will laugh out loud, wince, and — in my case — feel proud to be the same gender as the author."

About the Author

Caitlin Moran was named the Columnist of the Year by the British Press Awards in 2010, and Critic and Interviewer of the Year in 2011 for her work at the Times of London. You can follow Caitlin on Twitter @caitlinmoran.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating based on 6 comments:

Lydia Koerner, June 24, 2014 (view all comments by Lydia Koerner)
I prided myself in being a Woman. I loved myself, I respected myself, I loved and respected others, I love and respected my body. But after reading Caitlin Moran's book, I realized I know absolutely nothing about what makes a Woman. I can't stop telling all of my friends, young and old, about this book! Every single person should read this book at some point in their life!

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)

Sarah Niamh, January 31, 2013 (view all comments by Sarah Niamh)
I loved this book. It was very intelligent and very witty, and I wanted to underline every other line and put exclamation points next to it! I agreed with her on most points, but even when I didn't I respected that her arguments were thoughtfully presented. Her experiences with abortion and childbirth were thought-provoking, and her examination of nicknames for women's vaginas were hilariously memorable.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)

Reeree, January 30, 2013 (view all comments by Reeree)
Remember that joke about how many feminists does it take to change a light bulb? Good.
This woman is a hilarious, thoughtful and not afraid to call herself and her husband feminists!!!
I wish I had this book when I was young.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)

"Publishers Weekly Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"Part memoir, part postmodern feminist rant, this award-winning British TV critic and celebrity writer brings her ingeniously funny views to the States. Moran's journey into womanhood begins on her 13th birthday when boys throw rocks at her 182-pound body, and her only friend, her sister Caz, hands her a homemade card reminding her to please turn 18 or die soon so Caz can inherit her bedroom. Always resourceful — as the eldest of eight children from Wolverhampton — the author embarrasses herself often enough to become an authority on how to masturbate; name one's breasts; and forgo a Brazilian bikini wax. She doesn't politicize feminism; she humanizes it. Everyone, she writes, is automatically an F-word if they own a vagina and want 'to be in charge of it.' Empowering women is as easy as saying — without reservation — the word 'fat' and filling our handbags with necessities like a safety pin, biscuit, and 'something that can absorb huge amounts of liquid.' Beneath the laugh-out-loud humor is genuine insight about the blessings of having — or not having — children. With brutal honesty, she explains why she chose to have an abortion after birthing two healthy daughters with her longtime husband, Pete. Her story is as touching as it is timely. In her brilliant, original voice, Moran successfully entertains and enlightens her audience with hard-won wisdom and wit." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

"Review"
by Zoë Heller, author of The Believers,
"Caitlin Moran is a feminist heroine for our times. I can't wait to give this book to my daughters."

"Review"
by Peggy Orenstein, author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter,
"Caitlin Moran is so fabulous, so funny, so freshly feminist. I don't want to be like her — I want to be her. But if I can't, at least I can relish her book. You will, too."

"Review"
by Germaine Greer, The Times (London),
"A genuinely original talent."

"Review"
by Independent on Sunday (UK),
"Totally brilliant."

"Review"
by Ayelet Waldman, author of Bad Mother,
"Caitlin Moran is the profane, witty and wonky best friend I wish I had. She's the feminist rock star we need right now; How to Be a Woman is an hilarious delight."

"Review"
by Frances Wilson, Times Literary Supplement (London),
"This brilliantly argued and urgently needed book — highly comic and deadly serious — is precisely what feminism has been waiting for."

"Review"
by Emma Gilbey Keller, Vanity Fair,
"The U.K. version of Tina Fey's Bossypants....You will laugh out loud, wince, and — in my case — feel proud to be the same gender as the author."

"Review"
by Jenny Lawson, author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir,
"Caitlin Moran taught me more about being a woman than being a woman did. I'm pretty sure I had testicles before I read this book."

"Review"
by Shannon Carlin, Bust Magazine,
"Her arguments are hilarious and spot on....This isn't a self-help guide, and Moran's not really telling you how to be a woman. Instead, she's giving you permission to laugh: at ourselves, at her, and at anyone who think there's only one way to be a woman."

"Review"
by Kirkus Reviews (starred review),
"A spirited memoir/manifesto....With equal amounts snarky brio and righteous anger....That such an important topic is couched in ribald humor makes reading about Moran's journey hilarious as well as provocative....Rapturously irreverent, this book should kick-start plenty of useful discussions."

"Review"
by Jenn Doll, The Atlantic Wire,
"There is a good reason for [its success]: it is pretty phenomenal....[Moran] wrote the book in just 5 months....Chances are you'll read it in far less time than that, turning down the corners of extra-resonating pages to come back to later."

"Review"
by Heller McAlpin, Barnes & Noble Review,
"How funny is Caitlin Moran's neo-feminist manifesto and memoir, How to Be a Woman? Don't read it with a full bladder....You could spend a whole book group session flagging favorite lines.....There's some comfort in Moran's book coming out so soon after Nora Ephron's death."

"Review"
by Vanity Fair.com,
"With her drunk-on-gin-with-my-lady-friends honesty and humor, Moran, a Times of London columnist, snips the man out of manifesto, spinning her message of radically sensible female empowerment."

"Review"
by NPR.org,
"A hilarious neo-feminist manifesto....Moran reinvigorates women's lib with her personal and political polemic."

"Review"
by Interview Magazine,
"Bravely and brilliantly weaves personal anecdotes and cutting insight into a book that is at once instructional, confessional, and a call for change....Moran shifts effortlessly between her own hilarious experiences and larger questions about women's place in the modern world."

"Review"
by Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air,
"It is bracing in this season of losing [Nora] Ephron to discover a younger feminist writer who scrimmages with the patriarchy and drop kicks zingers with comic flair....A must-read for anyone curious to find out just how very funny a self-proclaimed 'strident feminist' can be."

"Review"
by People,
"Scathingly funny....Moran makes us think about femininity and feminism, and whether you agree or not, she's fascinating."

"Review"
by Today Show,
"A fresh, funny take on modern feminism that shines a light on issues facing every woman, lovingly boiled down to the basics with insight and humor."

"Review"
by New York Times,
"There are lots of things to love about Caitlin Moran's How to Be a Woman....A glorious, timely stand against sexism so ingrained we barely even notice it. It is, in the dour language [Moran] militates so brilliantly against, a book that needed to be written."

"Synopsis"
by Harper Collins,
Caitlin Moran puts a new face on feminism, cutting to the heart of womens issues today with her irreverent, transcendent, and hilarious How to Be a Woman. "Half memoir, half polemic, and entirely necessary," (Elle UK), Moran's debut was an instant runaway bestseller in England as well as an Amazon UK Top Ten book of the year; still riding high on bestseller lists months after publication, it is a bona fide cultural phenomenon. Now poised to take American womanhood by storm, here is a book that Vanity Fair calls "the U.K. version of Tina Fey's Bossypants....You will laugh out loud, wince, and — in my case — feel proud to be the same gender as the author."

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and gifts — here at Powells.com.